


Breathe, Stay, Give In

by SpaceHobo



Category: Stargate Universe
Genre: Aliens, Chloe looks after Rush, F/M, Falling In Love, Idiots in Love, Impromptu Surgery, Nicholas Rush is a grumpy awkward bastard, Rush and Chloe should have ended up together, Rush is a terrible patient, SUPERwhump, Scientists need love too, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-20
Updated: 2018-03-20
Packaged: 2019-04-05 07:46:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,574
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14039511
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpaceHobo/pseuds/SpaceHobo
Summary: Had he been more analytical of the situation, he would have chided himself on allowing her to become so much of a necessity for his happiness. For now, he was happy not to bring science into the equation of Chloe and himself. Rush/Chloe





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Follows the events of "Divided"

*&^%$%^&*

Chloe sat next to the bed, chair propped backwards and her chin on her fist. The door swished open and TJ came in. The two women exchanged a tense moment; it was clear TJ didn't trust Chloe as far as she could throw her but, Chloe mused, it didn't really matter. They were all going to have to work together to get through this; that meant trying to get past the incidents of the past twenty-four hours.

"Hey."

"Hey. He's been asleep the whole time I've been here." Chloe reported, glancing over at the sleeping Rush.

TJ nodded, leaned over Rush and removed the dressing covering the incision in his chest. She checked it over and tossed the gauze in the rubbish bin.

"Looks good. He's probably just taking a little longer than we expected to come out of the anaesthetic. Although if he stays under too much longer, I'd be concerned he was having a negative reaction to the second dose…" Tamara said, by way of an explanation. "Do you want me to take over-?"

"I'm fine. I don't mind staying." Chloe said quickly.

"Avoiding Matt?" TJ asked as she checked Rush's pulse.

"No-"

"You've been in here with Rush since the coup ended."

"Yeah?" Chloe snapped, defensively. "What about it? Should I go out there and be looked down upon because I'm one of the 'traitors'? No thanks. I think I'll stay in here."

The medic fixed her with a penetrating look, Chloe felt like TJ could read her thoughts and didn't like what they were saying.

"Ok." The blonde woman conceded. "Call me if you need a breather."

Chloe nodded sharply, not looking at her friend as the door opened and closed behind her. Once she was certain TJ was gone, she put her head in her hands and let out an exhausted sigh. Again, she glanced over at Rush; still unconscious and breathing shallowly. There was plenty of room on the bed, Rush didn't take up a whole lot of space anyway. Chloe shrugged, toed off her shoes and slid onto the covers next to him. She lay on her back for a while, staring up at the metal support beams in the ceiling. Inexplicably, she wondered about the intended occupants of these quarters. Destiny had never been a manned vessel, but had there been a crew of Ancients who had been allowed on board before her maiden voyage? Maybe someone had lain in this bed, staring up at these same geometrical shapes in the ceiling, looking forward to… something? What was she looking forward to? Now that she thought about it, Chloe discovered that she wasn't looking forward to a whole lot of anything these days. Evenings with Matt had become mind numbingly routine and only faintly enjoyable.

She found herself thinking about the man lying next to her, motionless and completely unaware of her rather morose inner monologue.

_"It's ok. You're ok."_

_A heavy Scottish accented voice, accompanied by a hand cradling her cheek as she oriented herself with her surroundings after being suspended in a tank of water for hours._

_"C'mon. We've got to get out of here."_

Rolling onto her side, her hand brushed Rush's side. Hesitantly, she traced the fresh incision before letting her hand rest lightly on his chest. The events leading up to his somewhat forced procedure had been odd. He'd trusted her right away, telling her what Camille and the rest of the civilians planned to do. He'd trusted her with the knowledge that he was carrying a tracking device in his chest. A flash of the expression on his face when the plan had gone awry.

_"You can't be serious-" he protested incredulously._

_"Please!"_

The determined features had softened immediately when Chloe had asked him to discontinue the plan in order to save Colonel Young and Matt. He'd relented rather quickly, now that she thought about it…

She felt comfortable and safe for the first time in a while. It didn't make any sense and she found that she was more than a little resentful, although of what she wasn't sure. Chloe scooted a little closer, curling her body alongside Rush's. She closed her eyes and, for the first time since their encounter with the aliens, wasn't greeting by nightmarish sights of mind control devices, aliens with transparent skin, and drowning.

She woke sometime later, still lying on her side huddled next to Destiny's resident Scot. Her hand still rested on his torso but now she felt a pressure on her wrist. Her eyes darted up to see that Rush's hand was gripping her wrist, holding it in place. Chloe smiled to herself, shifting slightly.

"Penny for your thoughts." a soft, heavily accented voice said. She almost jumped at the break in the silence.

"How do you feel?"

He chuckled, grimaced, then replied.

"Honestly? As if someone's been poking around in my chest with a rusty coat hanger." The hand that wasn't holding onto her arm touched the sore incision in his chest.

Chloe winced sympathetically before noticing that he was absently stroking her skin with his thumb. She had to fight back the impulse to smile.

"That's pretty accurate, actually. The stone's connection was broken just when we found the tracking device. Without her… It was kind of a trial and error thing."

She found it interesting that he wasn't questioning her presence in his bed.

"I uh… how long've I been out?"

"Not that long. I'm not sure exactly how long, I think I've been asleep for a while…"

"Yeah, you have been. But you need it."

"How long have you been awake?"

One shoulder moved up in a shrug.

"Half an hour or so."

"Why didn't you wake me up?!" she exclaimed, pushing herself up on her elbow to stare at him.

A faint smile crossed his face.

"You looked comfortable… seemed a shame to ruin it. Especially considering that decent sleep is hard to come by, these days."

"I didn't have the nightmare." Chloe said suddenly.

"Me either."

Up until now they'd both been pointedly ignoring the fact that he was half naked and she had fallen asleep curled at his side after letting her hands wander all over him.

"Should we talk about this?" she asked, uncertainly.

"I don't think it's really necessary." Rush said, his expression unreadable.

"Oh."

Her heart sank into the pit of her stomach and she sat up, pulling away from him and trying not to let the disappointment show on her face.

"I guess I'll go tell TJ-"

A pair of arms wrapped around her middle and pulled her back.

"Don't be ridiculous, you daft woman. That's not what I meant at all. Ouch!" Rush's nose wrinkled in a moment of discomfort; he ignored it and held Chloe pinned against him.

"You want me to stay?" Chloe asked, incredulously.

Rush rested his chin on her shoulder.

"Yeah, love. I want you to stay."

"I haven't…. I haven't felt remotely safe since…"

"I know." The arm around her torso tightened as he squeezed her gently.

"I feel safe, now." Chloe said softly. "Here. With you. I don't even feel like this when I'm with Matt."

He chuckled darkly.

"I'm not much help in a fight, love."

Chloe turned around and sat cross legged in front of him.

"You took out that one alien alright."

Rush smiled and looked away.

"Yeah, I did didn't I… He was a bit disoriented from the connection being broken, though-"

Quite suddenly, Chloe leaned forward and kissed him. Startled, it took a moment before Rush returned the kiss. One hand came up to touch her cheek. It was a long, slow kiss and Chloe was breathing rather heavily by the time she pulled away. She blushed, a pleasant pink shade that spread all over her body.

The strap of her tank top had slipped off her shoulder and now left a fairly large expanse of skin accessible. She looked pointedly from Rush to the fallen strap. The Scot merely laughed again, pressed a kiss to her warm skin, and straightened the errant article of clothing. Chloe stuck out her lower lip in a pout that Rush found to inexplicably cause his heart to skip a beat.

"As much as I would love to ravish you 'til you can't walk straight," Rush said with a lascivious grin, his hands absently stroking up and down the insides of her thighs. "I'm still a little sore from Tamara's well intentioned but somewhat amateurish rooting around in my internal organs."

"Oh very well." Chloe sighed dramatically, flopping down on her back on the bed.

"You will stay though?" he asked, taking her hand and kissing her palm.

"Of course."

"Lovely."

He gazed at her for a long moment.

"What?"

"I _would_ like very much to ravish you til you can't walk straight." Rush said, extremely seriously.

She giggled. The noise startled her; she hadn't giggled like that since they left earth oh so long ago.

"Fuck it." he growled, nudging her legs apart with a knee and pushing up her shirt to expose soft white skin.

Chloe yelped at the sensation of Rush's unshaven face as he began to move his way up her torso with his lips.

"No no no no nooo! You're all wounded and-" Chloe protested.

Quite suddenly, Rush let out a pained whine and rolled over onto his back, pressing a hand to his chest.

"Are you ok?" she asked, concerned.

"I hate getting old." he grumbled.

"Idiot." Chloe grumbled, smacking him on the shoulder.

Her fingers went to small incision. The skin around the stitches was slightly reddened and bleeding in a few spots. Rush sighed heavily at her, one hand resting on her leg. The dark haired young woman smiled at him and moved to straddle him. Her touch was gentle, feather light as her fingers ran over his skin. Chloe leaned down, putting her weight on the bed rather than him. She kissed him, moving over his jugular to his jaw line until she was finally eye to eye with him.

"What did I do to deserve you?" he murmured seriously, reaching up and twining a lock of her hair around his thumb and forefinger.

"I was about to ask the same thing." Chloe replied just as softly.

She kissed his scruffy cheek and rolled off him, reaching for his hand and twining her fingers with his. Chloe closed her eyes and nuzzled his arm. Rush let out a soft whine as he manoeuvred his arms awkwardly around her, pulling her close despite the discomfort it caused. He looked down at the soft features of the girl beside him. She'd been through rather a lot, but she was better for it. There was a change in the rhythm of her breathing and Rush saw that she had again drifted off to sleep. There was nothing for it; he was too tired, too sore, and too inexplicably comfortable with the warm body in his arms. Rush fell asleep listening to her breathe.

*&^%$%^&*


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She needed air. She needed space. She needed trees and water and to feel gras between her toes. He supposed that meant she didn't need him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Follows the events of "Faith"

"I'm… I'm going down to the planet." she said nervously.

Rush didn't look at her as he examined a readout on one of the screens, instead he merely nodded.

"I've just got to get some air." Chloe said, trying to explain. "We'll be back in a few weeks, right?"

Again, the Scotsman nodded. This time accompanied by a grunt of comprehension.

"Are you going to be ok?" the dark haired girl asked.

"I'll be fine, Miss Armstrong." he said flatly; Chloe felt a cold sick feeling in her middle. They were back to 'Miss Armstrong'. That was never a good sign. "Thank you for your concern. Enjoy your time on the planet."

Chloe stood stock still for a few moments, hoping he'd say something more. When it appeared he would not elaborate further, she padded over to his side, lay a hand on his forearm, and kissed his cheek.

"I'll see you in a few weeks." she whispered before disappearing from the room.

Once he was certain she was gone, Rush sagged against the console and pressed a hand to his chest. His head pounded and his chest hurt, although now he couldn't discern which reason was more likely for it aching the way it did.

"Damnit… Don't go." he muttered under his breath.

*&^%$%^&*

It worried Eli a little how stilted and slow Rush's movements were as of late. He didn't know a whole lot about biology and medicine, but something told him that performing open heart surgery on an ancient space ship, without proper anaesthetic, or a trained surgeon was having some adverse affects on the stodgy older scientist. When the call had gone out over the radio that the video feed from the planet had come back, Eli had been more than surprised to find that Rush was the only one interested in viewing the footage. Eli had opened the door to the computer lab in just enough time to catch Rush as he stumbled in.

"Hello, Eli. I heard the video feed was in?" Rush said, shaking the younger man's supportive hold on him off.

"Yeah. Did you want to see it?" Eli asked, surprised.

Rush nodded and sat down heavily on one of the benches set into the walls.

"Hang on a sec, I'll set it up." the chubby young man said.

After a few minutes, Eli queued up the footage and put it on the screen for Rush to see. Instead of watching the footage, Eli watched Rush. The expression on the older scientist's face was completely passive, but for the few frames Chloe was visible. Eli didn't miss the quickly and forcibly aborted smile that flickered over Rush's features as the Kino zoomed in on Chloe. Nor did he miss the look of irritation as the Kino captured a few "intimate" moments between Chloe and Matt. As the video ended, Rush clambered to his feet and shot a tight smile at Eli.

"Thank you, Eli. Much appreciated. Looks quite nice down there." Rush finished lamely.

Eli nodded wordlessly, noting how careworn and exhausted his friend looked. He did consider Rush to be a friend. True, he wasn't much of one; nor would he have been Eli's first choice for a drinking and W.O.W. buddy, but out here… you took what you were given.

"Are you ok?" Eli asked awkwardly. "You don't look too good."

Rush raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"I'm just a little tired. Thanks for the concern."

"You should go rest." Eli suggested.

"Aye… I will. Thank you, Eli."

Eli watched him leave, concern furrowing his brow and Rush moved sluggishly down the hallway. Rush stayed close to the wall all the way to his quarters, using the cold metal for support 'til he could crawl into bed. The door to his room swished open and then closed behind him. Safe from prying eyes; Rush let his shoulder's sag and rolled into bed, arms held protectively over his chest. Face contorted with pain, he curled into a ball. He missed the warm body that had slept next to him several times now. Missed Chloe's scent and her soft, cool hands on him when he hurt. He missed having someone who knew what the nightmares were like and didn't look at him as if he were insane.

He tried to push the pain to the back of his mind; he had work to do and he needed sleep. He needed to forget Chloe; even if the team on the planet came back, it was clear she would be spending time in someone else's quarters for the duration of their time aboard the purgatory that was Destiny.

Sleep. Sleep and forget.

*&^%^&*

Chloe stared out the observation deck windows at the gently glowing colours surrounding the ship. Already she missed the warmth of the sun on her skin and the feel of wind through her hair. Destiny's dry, recycled air felt stale in comparison to the freshness of the planet they had just been forced to leave. She could have stayed. Should have. Matt thought she had come back because of him but she hadn't the heart to tell him there were other reasons.

She was suddenly aware of a presence next to her. Chloe glanced to her left and saw Rush in profile, backlit by the lights of FTL.

"I'm sorry you didn't get to stay." he said quietly.

Chloe nodded wordlessly. Fingers entwined with the hand she was holding at her side. She looked down and saw her hand in his. He still wasn't looking at her; in fact he was very pointedly looking everywhere but at her. Chloe turned back to the window, stroking the back of his hand with her thumb.

"I know you wanted to stay. I wish you could have." the heavily Scottish accented voice said.

A shaking hand brushed her hair back behind her ear and she felt lips press a kiss to her forehead.

"I'm glad you came back."

The hand in hers was suddenly gone and when she turned round, she had just enough time to see Rush's back retreating down the hallway.

*^%$%^


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Follows the events of "Lost"

*&^%$$%^&*

The gate shut off and steam shot into the air from either side. Rush shot a look back at Greer, who was exchanging words with Colonel Young. The military man locked eyes with Rush for a moment; the icy nature of Rush's stare was enough to make Greer look away first. He stalked over the console, dropped his rucksack on the floor, and frowned as he examined the readout. The countdown ticked down to zero and Destiny accelerated into FTL.

Colonel Young turned around in time to see Rush scowl thunderously, pivot on his heel, and disappear down the corridor. There may as well have been a storm cloud floating above the scientist's head.

"Lotta work… Lotta lotta work." Young muttered under his breath before turning back to the task of getting everyone back to work.

*&^%^&*

Once in the relative privacy of his room, Rush veritably flung his rucksack across the room before turning and glaring murderously at the wall. After a moments pause there was a loud bang and a stream of curse words as Rush's fist made impact with the wall. Another garbled mass of harshly accented swearing spilled forth as the pain of punching a solid metal object registered in his brain.

It should have been Chloe. Chloe should be here. He sat down heavily on the side of his bed, hands clenching and unclenching spasmodically on his knees. The rage subsided, leaving him feeling cold and empty. Rush scrubbed a hand over his face and lay down on his bed, staring up at the ceiling.

*&^%$%^&*


	4. Chapter 4

It had been quite some time since Chloe had had the opportunity for a shower and she was beginning to smell, even to herself, rather… earthy. She stopped by her quarters, picked up a fresh change of clothing, and headed down to the showers, humming softly to herself. She hit the button on the side of the door and it swished smoothly open. Chloe found herself face to face with a shirtless Dr Rush. They stared at each other in silence for a moment before a blush burned across her face and she looked away.

"I'm sorry. I thought the showers were empty." she mumbled, embarrassed.

Rush blinked at her, his expression flat and unreadable. When he finally spoke, his tone was carefully polite.

"Not to worry, Miss Armstrong. I was on my way back to my quarters." he stepped past her through the door way. "Enjoy your shower."

Chloe nodded mutely, watching him start down the hallway. He hadn't gone ten steps before Chloe discovered that she had unwillingly opened her mouth and called after him.

"Nick!"

He froze in his steps. The scientist turned slowly and padded back to her, eyes fixed firmly on the floor.

"I…" she started, her stomach turning with nerves. "I did a lot of thinking. When we were stuck on the planet."

Rush nodded, crossing his arms protectively over his bare chest and finally meeting her gaze.

"It was beautiful there." Chloe continued. "I wish you could have seen it."

"I'm sure." he replied, the tinge of bitterness not going unnoticed.

It wasn't as though he had any right to be jealous of the time she and Scott had spent alone together. No doubt someone would tell her about how close he and Mandy had gotten during the short time they'd been working together. Still… he took his feelings and put them in a box. Then he put that box in a little room in the back of his mind and closed and locked the door.

"I really wish you had been there." the girl standing in front of him said, her hands twisting awkwardly.

Chloe closed the distance between them and reached out to trace the incision TJ had made several weeks ago. Rush was irritated to find that that was all he needed for the box in the back of his mind to explode, leaving a hole in the imaginary door. Her fingers were warm on his skin and the warmth seemed to radiate outward, travelling to the top of his head and the tips of his toes.

"Chloe…" he said, tone caught between a warning and longing.

"Does it still hurt?" she asked.

He covered her hand with his, holding it against his chest and revelling in the feel of her skin on his.

"Just a bit, now and again…"

"I'm still having the nightmares." Chloe said suddenly.

"Aye. Me too."

"Are they ever going to stop?" she asked.

Rush paused.

"I dunnae, love. I honestly don't."

Liquid blue eyes fixed him with a piercing stare.

"Can we go to bed?" she murmured plaintively.

The scientist bit his lip, pausing momentarily before nodding his head once.

"Yeah, alright."

"No pressure." Chloe said as they headed off to Rush's quarters. "I'm too tired to do anything but sleep anyway."

Once safely inside, Chloe wasted no time kicking off her shoes and sliding under the cool covers of the bed. Rush watched her from the doorway as she wriggled under the blankets; a moment later her cotton yoga pants hit the wall and landed in a heap on the floor. She reached out for him, expression pleading.

Rush sighed quietly, contentedly as his arms closed around Chloe's lithe form. The crux of her pert little bum came to rest in his lap, the back of her thighs resting against the fronts of his. Chloe reached back and stroked his cheek.

"I really did miss you." she said, playing with the scruffy beard he refused to shave.

"Aye, love." he mumbled. "I missed you too."

"Really?"

"Yes." he put on a grouchy tone, squeezing her gently and playfully round the middle. "Now go to sleep."

*&^%$%^&*


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Explicit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Follows the events of episode "Pain"

*&^%^&*

Rush blinked blearily up at TJ, the insane paranoia and panic slowly ebbing away like the tide. The scientist tried to lever himself up on one elbow but TJ put a hand out to stop him.

"Whoa. Take it easy. You've got plenty of time." she said, squeezing his shoulder soothingly. "Just relax a sec before you go barrelling off to your lab."

"Wha-what happened, exactly?" Rush asked, still slightly disoriented.

"Long story short: Alien tick, mind altering chemicals, hallucinations all round." the blonde medic said with a convivial smile. Dimly, Rush thought about the quote that pregnant women "glowed". TJ seemed to be glowing like a supernova. He fought the urge to squint.

"Ah." it was the only thing he could think of to say. "But everything's fine now?"

"Yeah, seems to be. Til the next disaster." TJ grinned.

Her warm, dry fingers touched his throat as she checked his pulse.

"Yeah, you're fine. If you absolutely insist on leaving, you can go."

"I do."

Rush swung his legs over the side and hopped off the bed, swaying momentarily before regaining his balance and stalking off to his lab.

"You're welcome!" TJ called after his retreating figure, her voice slightly annoyed.

*&^%^&*

It wasn't til much later that Rush discovered exactly how much his body hurt. With all the distractions of dealing with Volkner and the others' ineptitude gone, he was left concentrating on the screaming agony in his muscles and joints. He couldn't remember exactly what had happened while he was hallucinating, but he seemed to recall a tussle with some rather large marines. Reluctantly, he straightened up his notes for the day, put them in a folder, and headed back to his quarters.

He didn't bother changing; simply kicked off his boots, pulled off a couple of layers of shirts, and lay down on his bed. Rush couldn't remember feeling this tired back on Earth. This was a deep, persistent exhaustion that lived in his bones, making them ache and joints pop. A sudden rapping at the door made him jump. A moment later and the knocking happened again. Rush dragged himself to the door and smacked the button to its side irritably. Chloe stood in the corridor, hair a mess and eyes red rimmed.

"Please don't send me away." she whispered, her shoulders were hunched and she had crossed her arms protectively over her breast as if she were cold.

Rush merely grunted, guided her inside, and shut the door.

"I saw my father…" she said, by way of an explanation. "I saw my daddy and… I just lost him. All over again."

He knew that feeling; had experienced it just a few days ago, reliving the memory of his wife's last week alive. Old wounds reopened were twice as slow to heal. Rush felt the guilt return, however distantly connected to the Senator's death, he knew Chloe would always associate him with being the cause of her loss.

"Are you ok?" the dark haired girl in front of him asked.

"What d'you mean?" Rush asked innocently.

"You're all bent over and hunched."

"I'm old." he retorted, surreptitiously straightening up. "It happens when you get old."

Chloe's hands were suddenly on his shoulders as she used her slight advantage in height to take the lead.

"You're not old. Matt says the soldiers had to… restrain you, while you were hallucinating."

He raised an eyebrow, not bringing up the fact that her father and he were contemporaries in respects to age. Chloe's fingers worked at the knot of muscles in his neck and shoulders. Rush groaned appreciatively, arching catlike against her touch.

"Shouldn't you be asleep?" she asked.

"Aye. Easier said than done."

"I wanna sleep." Chloe said, her tone almost petulant.

"Well that makes two of us, only I find that it's easier said than done."

The short massage died away, Chloe pressed a quick kiss to the exposed skin of his shoulder. Rush guided his young companion to bed, tucking the covers around her and laying down next to her, as had become their somewhat nightly routine. To the casual observer, the two were as children; curled together, using one another to stave off the monsters in their nightmares. He shut his eyes, listening to the low hum of Destiny's engines and the gentle breathing beside him. Rush felt pressure on his chest; Chloe's arm lay over him, her fingers playing with his shirt. He looked down and met her gaze; large blue eyes, deep enough to get lost in, fixed him with an unreadable stare.

"Hi." she said.

"Hello."

He could almost see the patterns of thought being worked through in her mind. She was contemplating something, trying to decide her next move. After she had weighed all the apparent pros and cons, Chloe levered herself up, moving up and over so that she was above Rush. She licked her lips unconsciously before finally leaning down and kissing him. The pressure was as gentle as butterfly wings. Chloe pulled back; both startled by the gesture. The second kiss was met halfway; Rush surprised himself by pulling her rather forcefully into his lap. Chloe now straddled him and he found himself really despising the fact that he had worn jeans that day on Icarus.

"Chloe…" he murmured hazily.

"I'm not made of glass." the young woman said. "You can touch me if you want."

Rush wanted to; oh how he wanted to. Now that he'd been given permission, undomesticated equines could not stop him. His fingers moved inexorably under she tank top, pulling it off over her head and taking a moment to gaze hungrily at the slim figure now situated on his lap. Chloe reached behind her back and unhooked her bra, shimmying out of it and dropping it beside the bed.

"You're beautiful." Rush said in the tones of one seeing a goddess in the flesh.

She blushed, the pink tinge spreading all over her body and making her skin even warmed to the touch. And touch he did; Rush traced the gentle curve from her waist to her hip, both hands travelling over her backside and squeezing gently as he pulled her in close for another kiss. Rush plucked insistently at the waistband of her yoga pants.

"These need to come off." he said hoarsely.

Chloe laughed, reaching down and stroking him through his jeans.

"You're one to talk; who goes to bed wearing jeans?"

"Fair enough."

She gave a little shriek of surprise as Rush rolled her onto her back, catching hold of either side of her pants and tugging them off. "Why," Rush said in the tones of the genuinely perplexed. "have you got a cupcake printed on your knickers?"

"Why not?" Chloe replied.

"Touché."

Rush let his fingers explore the flawless white skin that had been hidden away by her pants; always skirting the edges of her light pink, inexplicably cupcake decorated panties.

"Niiick!" she whined.

"Hmm?" he mumbled distractedly, eyes fixed on the apex of her thighs.

Chloe growled and seized the hem of his shirt, wrestling it over his head and flinging it away decisively. She smiled smugly as it landed in a heap on the other side of the room.

"Fuzzy." she said, grinning as she tugged at a sparse tuft of chest hair. "I knew you'd be fuzzy."

"Ouch, woman!" Rush yelped, squirming away. He leaned down, capturing her legs and clamping them to his sides as he nipped lightly at her hip.

She wriggled, grinding against him purposefully. Rush let out a strangled groan and all but ripped her panties off.

"For fuck's sake take OFF the jeans." Chloe demanded, tugging impatiently at his belt loops.

Chloe took the initiative and used her weight to knock him off balance, sitting naked on his legs as her hands worked to unbuckle, unbutton, and unzip the offending garment. She frowned, noting the extra hole that Rush had cut into the belt when the smallest option had been too big. Her fingers came into contact with his boxers.

"I figured you for a boxer-brief man. Looks like I was right." she said with a devilish grin.

"Chloe…"

The way he said her name, low and hoarse, almost pleading; Chloe shivered, although not because she was cold. Indeed, her skin felt like it was on fire. Chloe took charge, guiding him in; her eyes slid shut as they found a comfortable rhythm. Rush looked up at the beguiling woman on top of him; her tongue darted out to moisten her lips as her brow furrowed in concentration. His hands rested on her hips as she moved; moments melted into each other, not that time really mattered. Chloe tried to stifle her scream and was not quite successful, her voice echoed in his ears as Rush gasped her name a heartbeat later and pulled her down for a kiss. Shaking, she rested again his chest for a moment before she rolled off and lay panting next to the scientist. They remained that way for a few minutes, trying to catch their breath. Rush's hand rested on her flat belly, his thumb stroking back and forth over the smooth skin.

He let himself smile when Chloe curled her warm body alongside his, one leg rubbing up and down his. She frowned momentarily as her skin came into contact with rough denim.

"I still didn't manage to get you out of those stupid jeans." she grumbled, absentmindedly stroking the twin scars left by the aliens and TJ's impromptu open heart surgery.

Rush chuckled, his own hands tracing designs over her sweaty skin.

"Aye…D'you think you can manage a bit of sleep now?" the scientist said with a rakish grin.

"Yep. You wore me out." Chloe sighed dramatically, burying her face in his shoulder.

Rush brushed a sweaty lock of hair back behind her ear. Her face was pink with the exertion of their prior activity. He bit his lip, unsure of what name to put to the strange feeling that filled his chest. It had only ever hit him like this once before. Not even with Mandy had he felt as breathless as this.

They slept. Her closeness chased away the demons; blue skinned, transparent aliens nowhere to be found in the dreamscapes of his mind. Had he been more analytical of the situation, he would have chided himself on allowing her to become so much of a necessity for his happiness. For now, he was happy not to bring science into the equation of Chloe and himself. For now, he let himself rest.

*&^%^$%^&*


End file.
